engine dismantling

[flagstaff]

i'm removing the cylinder head of a 2.3 M102 engine (out of car), and looking at the haynes manual the procedure is pretty long drawn out (removal of sump, pas pump, timing chain cover etc & etc) ... and i'm wondering, is there a short way to do this? obviously the cam sprocket will have to come off, but it strikes me that there's probably a lot of unnecessary work involved if i do it the haynes way. has anyone got any tips/urls/experiences on this job? thanks for all help!

 

[flyingtech55]

Hi Flagstaff

I might have to remove the head on my 190E (M102 engine) because the cooling system is pressurising. This normally means head gasket failing or a porous head casting. Either way its a head off job.

I asked a mechanic friend of mine who had done one for a customer and he removed the head with the engine still in the car. He reckoned the hardest bit was removing the chain tensioner which has to have two internally threaded roll pins removed. He didn't remember having to remove the sump. Also access is good because of the wide opening bonnet, the lack of the grill and ease of removal of the radiator. However he did say it wasn't a trivial job. Hohum

Gliderman

 

[TimN]

To remove the pins screw in a short M5 bolt into it and use a claw hammer to extract it as if it were a nail. Alternatively use a longer bolt and thread a nut all the way up it. Then thread up a 10mm socket onto the bolt. Then thread the bolt into the pin and start winding down the nut until the pin starts to withdraw into the socket.

There is no need to remove the engine to remove the cylinder head. And I don't know why you're removing the sump.

The biggest pain is removing the air intake manifold. There is one nut which you can only get an eighth of a turn at a time.

Do not take the manifold off untill you have broken the seal on the head gasket. You can use it to get good leverage.

 

[flagstaff]

thanks Tim - useful advice about removing the pin(s) but damnit if i haven't already ordered a slide hammer to do the job! still, good to know there is another way if the sh doesn't work. while we're on the subject of removing, you wouldn't happen to know how to budge an unbudgeable sump drain plug?

i decided to go the whole nine yards and replace all reachable gaskets while the engine's out - sump, head, manifolds, timing chain cover, oil filter housing etc & etc. working on a motor while it's out on the bench is pleasantly un-chorelike. hopefully i'll get another 100k out of her when it's done. have been surprised how reasonable parts cost has been from the stealers.

 

[Myros]

why unremovable?

Is it stuck, rounded, or some other irresistible facet of mechanical frustration.

 

[flagstaff]

i think it's been in there so long that some reaction has taken place between alloy and steel and the thing is now welded in ... bolt head became rounded with attempts to get it out, so i filed the sides down to take a smaller size socket but still no go. bathed it in wd40, no effect ... probably have to take it to the engineering shop

 

[justinb]

I'd suggest an 'easy out'. its a piece of hardend steel that looks a bit like a drill with the twist going the other way. Drill a hole in the bolt head about 10 mm deep using a 4 or 5mm drill. Put the 'easy out' in a tap wrench and wind in anti clockwise. It starts to grip the inside of the of the hole and with a bit of brute strength the bolt should (yeah right!) come out...

Failing that, the engineering shop would use something like a spark eroder if the first option doesnt work.

First option is of course the cheapest...good luck!! ;-)

 

[flagstaff]

thanks justinb, will try that easyout suggestion tomorrow. note to tim: your tip on the screw and socket pulled the pin out no trouble - and this is before the slide hammer even arrived ... damn

 

[shaggy]

if your sump plug has a copper or plastic type washer just gently heat it up with a blow torch till the copper or plastic melts!

that is why when you buy a sump plug it has these washers on so that in the event of it getting "stuck" you can get the sump plug out!
note:- wait till the plug has cooled down before unscrewing obvious i know but i know mechanics who have forgoten to wait and burnt their fingers lol

 

[TimN]

Try any combination of the following depending upon experience, access to equipment and condition of the plug head. Always use a 6 sided impact socket and not traditional type as it gets more purchase on the head and is less likely to round off.

1. Apply WD40 or 3 in 1 penetrating oil and wait overnight then give it a go.

2. Have a bash with an impact driver. The shock will help.

3. Warm up with blow torch and then cool down rapidly cool down with water.

4. Use a longer lever on the socket or if you havn't got one then use a section of pipe over your lever to get more mechanical advantage.

5. Having given up myself in a similar situation I got the grinder out to grind the head off only to find the heat generated loosened the bolt

 

[190D]

Why not buy a set of turbo sockets £20 from screwfix the more you lever to loosen the better the grip. They will remove any rounded bolt or nut.

 

[flagstaff]

thanks for all the tips guys! at the moment it's still sitting there in the yard ... but i can tell it's afraid of me now